If you were hoping to plunder an Android phone from down under, there's bad news. Kogan, maker of the Agora Android phone, has canceled the device and is refunding those who preordered it.The Kogan Agora was supposed to ship by the end of January. In fact, the device already was in production. So what happened?

According to reports, Ruslan Kogan, founder and CEO of the company making the Android handset, met with Google at its offices recently. Upon his return to Australia, Kogan halted the phone's production.

Kogan is quoted as saying, "The Agora reached a very late stage of development, manufacturing had commenced and we were within days of shipping the product to customers. But it now seems certain the current Agora specifications will limit its compatibility or interoperability in the near future. I now believe that in order to access all the Android platform has to offer, the Agora must be redesigned."

Kogan hasn't provided more details. Based on what we know, it appears that the hardware just wasn't designed properly. Hopefully Kogan can revamp the device and get a new version of it into the hands of consumers at some point.

The original specs of the Agora included a 2.5-inch, 320 by 240 touch screen, microSD slot for expanded memory, Bluetooth, FM radio, and QWERTY keyboard. The Agora Pro upgraded to a 2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, and GPS. The phones were to be sold without SIM cards and unlocked directly from the Kogan Web site. Kogan is refunding those who preordered the device.